diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/build_environment.py b/lib/spack/spack/build_environment.py
index cab455695ec..cb3bc6169e0 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/build_environment.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/build_environment.py
@@ -667,7 +667,7 @@ def child_process(child_pipe, input_stream):
         except StopIteration as e:
             # StopIteration is used to stop installations
             # before the final stage, mainly for debug purposes
-            tty.msg(e.message)
+            tty.msg(e)
             child_pipe.send(None)
 
         except BaseException: